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2024-07-31-accounts

Trustees Annual Report

1 August 2023 – 31 July 2024

Document Control

Author : Chris Rees, Chair of the Trustees

Version : 2 – 22[nd] February 2025

Introduction

This report covers the period between 1[st] August 2023 and 31[st] July 2024.

This is the third year of the operation of Carlton Operatic Society CIO. The Constitution of the CIO demands that an AGM takes place no later than 15 months after the previous AGM; the date of that previous AGM was 18[th] December 2023.

The annual accounts for the 2023-2024 season have been prepared, and have been independently examined; this report has been updated and reissued to include the examined accounts for discussion and approval at a general meeting, following which they will be submitted to the Charity Commission.

Reference and Administrative details

Name of the charity : Carlton Operatic Society

Other names which the charity uses : none

Charity registration number : 1194116

Address : 1 Poppy Mews, Hucknall, Nottingham, NG15 7EY

Trustees during report period : Christopher Rees (Chair & Business Manager), Sarah Hill (Treasurer, part), Ella Greenwood (Administrator), Jennifer Chatten, Laura Ellis (resigned 24[th] March 2024), Anthony Lockett(Treasurer, part), Graham Ward.

Structure, governance and management

Carlton Operatic Society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, governed with an ‘association model’ constitution.

Trustees for the charity are elected by the membership at the annual general meeting (AGM), for a period of up to three years, and are responsible for the management of the Society. They receive no remuneration for their role as trustees. Further trustees can be appointed as necessary to the board by trustees between AGMs, subject to those appointed trustees resigning at the next AGM. Trustees need not be members of the charity prior to their appointment or election.

The charity has no employees.

Independent Examiners: Karen Braithwaite, Denhams Accountancy and Taxation Services, 32 Seathwaite Close, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 6SF

NODA: The Society is affiliated with the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, NODA House, 58-60 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2RZ.

19[th] February 2025

Page 2 of 4

Objectives and activities

The object of the CIO is to promote and improve general education in relation to all aspects of the art of drama and musical theatrical performance for the public benefit.

Following the successful production of “Kinky Boots” in May 2023, work commenced on the 2024 production, “Kipps – The New Half A Sixpence Musical”. As with “Kinky Boots”, the license for “Kipps” was obtained in 2019, pre-pandemic, and was originally scheduled to be performed in our 2021 slot, following “Shrek The Musical” (in 2020). As a more traditional musical than either Shrek or Kinky Boots, it was intended as a contrast for both members and audience. We had sought performance rights for the show for several years prior, following the closure of the show on the West End.

As the rights were released, the name of the show was changed by the rights-holders, from “Half A Sixpence” to “Kipps – The New Half A Sixpence Musical”. In hindsight, that appears to have been a very bad choice, negatively impacting ticket sales due to lack of familiarity to the audience. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has also seriously impacted ticket sales for all productions in the area, although at the time of writing the report there appear to be signs that sentiment is picking up and some shows have sold very well in the past few months.

As noted in the report for the 2022-23 season, it took a considerable amount of time to obtain the revenue for ticket sales for “Kinky Boots” from the Theatre Royal; the receipt of those monies occurred in the period covered by this report and are shown in the accounts for 2023-24. We managed to secure the revenue for “Kipps” in time for the financial year end, so both sets of ticket monies are accounted for.

Critically, “Kipps” was a very successful show, receiving great reviews, and standing ovations from the audience each night. However, financially it has not been a success. The likelihood of poor ticket sales was reasonably obvious early on (comparing tickets sales with previous productions), which allowed us to identify the need to constrain spending on the show as far as possible – the overall actual cost of the show is some £24,300 less than “Kinky Boots” the previous year, and was considerably less than we had originally budgeted for. That means that despite ticket sales of nearly £40,000 less, the overall loss on the show was contained to £28,233 (compared to a loss last year of £12,837).

In better news however, our registration as a CIO in 2021 has meant that we now qualify for Theatre Tax Relief, and we were able to submit backdated claims for both “Shrek” and “Kinky Boots” prior to the claim deadline of 31[st] July 2024. Although the resulting credits sit outside the period of these accounts, it is important to note that we have received more than £50,000 in credits from HMRC as a result of these claims, and expect to receive a further tranche for a claim for “Kipps” in the next few weeks following the completion of the accounts for 2023-24.

In February 2024 we were approached by Nottingham Operatic Society (NOS) to collaborate on an amateur production of “Les Misérables”. The terms of the collaboration were essentially that we donate our May 2025 week at the Theatre Royal, and our members would get preferential treatment to take part in the show. After a considerable amount of discussion within the trustees and with NOS, we agreed to the collaboration. Rehearsals for this production are underway at present, and ticket sales are proceeding very well. COS will not benefit financially from the production, but are also not responsible for the costs of producing it.

19[th] February 2025

Page 3 of 4

We have just confirmed our production for the 2025-26 season, which will be “Come From Away”. We anticipate that this will be a popular show for both members and audience members, and look forward to a busy and successful year.

The trustees of the Society have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity has undertaken this year.

Achievements and performance

The main achievement of the charity for the period in question was the artistically successful mounting of our production of “Kipps – The New Half A Sixpence Musical”. The show had a smaller than usual cast, and included 16 children (in two teams); some of the cast were performing in their first show, and a number were performing with Carlton for the first time. 2267 people saw the show over the week. The reviews from the professional reviewers were glowing, and audience comments were also positive.

We invited the local charity Forget-Me-Notts (a branch of Operation Orphan) to collect money after each of the performances, and they reported a good collection and positive audience feedback.

Financial Review

During the 2023-24 period our expenditure totalled £92,656 and our income totalled £64,423.

We hold reserves of funds in order to ensure that we are able to continue to produce theatrical productions; we aim for those funds to be sufficient to allow for a very unsuccessful production to not reduce the funds available to the charity to the point at which it is not possible to produce further productions.

At the end of the 2023-24 financial period, the funds of the CIO were severely depleted; however as noted above a substantial amount of money has subsequently been received by the society, and we are currently in the best financial position we have been in for over a decade.

We need to continue to grow the finances to reach a completely secure position, but the trustees are satisfied that the reserves currently held allow us to continue with our planned production for 2026. At the end of the 2023-24 financial year the accounts showed that we had £5,546 in the bank, but a total of position of being £1,939 in debt. As noted above, shortly after the end of the financial year a substantial amount of money was received from HMRC for Theatre Tax Relief meaning that the charity now has a healthy positive bank balance.

Exemptions from disclosure

Not applicable

Funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others

None

Financial accounts

See accompanying PDF “Carlton Final Accounts 31 07 24.pdf”

19[th] February 2025

Page 4 of 4

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Carlton Operatic Society 1194116 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period 8/1/2023 To 7/31/2024 from

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts 319
8,640
3,548
36,354
825
3,782
1,100
240
70
2,326
1,920
20
747
3,000
2,218
2,045
67,152
-
-
-
67,152
43
2,213
245
58
2,229
1,350
491
6,735
74
15,361
5,305
3,736
3,047
4,440
28,855
1,267
1,420
2,129
70
1,542
80,609
-
-
-
80,609
Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
 to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Restricted
funds		 to the nearest £
Endowment
funds		 Total funds
to the nearest £
319
8,640
3,548
36,354
825
3,782
1,100
240
70
2,326
-
1,920
-
20
747
3,000
2,218
2,045		 Last year
to the nearest £
Bank Reserve Account Interest - 252
Tickets(Societysales) - 9,891
Theatre Kipps net of theatre expenses -
Theatre KinkyBoots net of theatre expenses 2023
Browne Jacobson tickets KinkyBoots 2023
MembershipFees - 3,735
Patron Fees - 1,310
Programme Adverts - 255
Programme Page Sponsorship - 110
Programme Sales - 46
Show Video Sales - 325
SceneryRefund -
Amazon - 49
Donations -
AncillaryIncome - 25
Loan received -
Merchandise - 1,186
Socials - 4,847
Sub total(Gross income for AR)
- - 67,152 22,031
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
None -
-
-		 - -
-
-
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
- - 67,152 22,031
Miscellaneous Expenses(crew meal/accommodation) -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 - -
43
2,213
245
-
58
2,229
1,350
491
-
6,735
74
15,361
5,305
3,736
3,047
4,440
28,855
-
1,267
1,420
2,129
-
70
1,542
80,609		 252
Data and Web Hosting - 43
Insurance - 2,211
Noda Subscription & Medals - 230
MembershipFee refund -
Refunds -
Chaperones - 375
Production Team Honoraria - 5,600
Wigs - 1,305
Prosthetics/Makeup -
Scenery - 5,154
Props - 397
Lighting -
Sound/Mics - 4,077
Publicity/Advertising - 4,983
Costumes - 4,854
Orchestra - 4,070
Royalties Kipps and KinkyBoots -
Lib/Score Hire -
Programme Costs - 1,610
Room Hire - 2,950
Merchandise - 1,913
Video Hire Fee -
Professional fee -
Socials - 3,233
Sub total - 43,258
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see
table)
None -
-
-		 - -
-
-
-
Sub total - -
Total payments
- - 80,609 43,258
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end		 - 13,457
-
19,003
5,546		 -
-
-
-		 - - 13,457
-
19,003
5,546		 - 21,227
- -
40,230
- 19,003

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B5 Liabilities
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s
own use
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the
trustees		 Details
Closing Balance at Year End 31/7/24
Details
Social Receipt re Ball received 2/8/24
Details
None
Details
None
Details
Professional Fees
Merchandise
Room Rental April and May 2024
Bank Loan
Show Honoraria
Props Banjos
Signature
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))		 to nearest £
Unrestricted
funds		 to nearest £
Restricted
funds		 to nearest £
Endowment
funds
5,546 -
-
-
-		 -
- -
-
5,546 -
OK
to nearest £
Unrestricted
funds		 OK
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
143 -
-
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which
asset belongs		 Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs		 Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates		 When due (optional)
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Date of approval

....\2020-2 Shrek\Treasurer 2021 - 2022\Charity Commission Guidance for CIO Accounts\CC16b - Notes for how to complete Accounts form.pdf